Process of producing alloys of hydrogen and iron.



Nn.42,320. I Patented Ian. 3D, |900.

` B. W. GESNER.

PROCESS 0F PBUDUCING ALLOYS 0F HYDRDGEN AND IRUN.

(Application fxled May 2, 1899) (No Model.) -2 Sheets-Sheet l.

N0. 042,020 Patented 1an. 30,1000.

0. w. GEsNER. 1

PRDCESS 0F PBUDUCING ALLUYS 0F HYDROGEN AND IRON.

(Appxiwtion med may 2. 1899.) (No Model.) 2 sheets-sheet 2.

ATTORN EY GEORGE lV. GESNER, OF NElV YORKy-N. Y.

Plh DF PRDUCING ALLQYS OF HYDROGEN AND IRON.

sensitiv-.carton famine para of Letters retest Naceegaec; estes." .raz-.usw so, 1960.

original" .imitation-'nea umh 1o, 139e, sei-xu No. 582,600. named mi the applicant ned my 2,1899. serai no 715,323. (filo specimens.)

'['o all 'whom it may concern:

lle it known that I, GEORGEAW. GESNER, a citizen 'of the United States, residing in the borough of Brooklyn, in tl1e-city and State of New York, havenvented a certain new and useful Process of Producing an Alloy of Hydrogen and Iron, ofxvhichthe following is a specification. n I produce a new alloy composed of a per- :o marient combination of iron and hydrogen adapted to be worked either by forging or by `casting. vThe means by vhich 1 produce it induce an absorption .of the ges by subjecting extended surfaces of the heated iron to t 5 the same and subsequently meltingr the alloy thus produced.

The alloy possesses extraordinarypropertics in resisting oxidation and corrosion. It

is unaffected even by sulfuric acid or aqua 2o regia It can be worked in the same manner The specific gravity is somewhat4 .as iron.

less, but it possesses nearlythe strength of "iron, l

My experiments indicate that the union of z 5 the hydrogen with the iron is stable and will remain under all ordinary or extraordinary conditions to which it may be subjected.

The alloy first formed on the surface'of the iron obstructs the action of th'e hydrogen on 3o the iron within. At this stage it is not strong;

and its adhesion to the remainder of the ironV is suiciently weak to allow the thin coatings u y loi? alloy to be removed at intervals by'sutli' ciently-violent action.

g5 terward subjected to heat melt into a' Vsingle pisode which possesses the qualities above dene The iron must be previously reduced by! Y. peddling or analogous' means to tliecondif.. ation of Wroughtdron or low steel and rolled thin and coiled or otherwise conditioned to expose a large surface on which to form the' thin scales in which the alloy iirst appears.

The accompanying drawings form a part of this specihcation and represent what I con# Sider the best means of carrying-out the invention.

Figure 1 is a vertical section on vthe line 1 1 in Fig. 2. Fig. 2 is a horizontal section of a 5o portion on the line 2 2 in Fig. l. Fig. 3 is a sectionthrough a portion of the upright re- `scribed is to decompose the steam, the oxygen standthc heatand aliningof ganisteror other The scales being eff thevesse the" descent of, thenaphtha, he#

tort on a larger scale, to show.'r a preferable forni ofthe joints. Fig. 4 illustrates an apparatus adapted for the practice of my invention in connection with a blast-furnace.

Sirnilarl letters of reference indicate corresponding parts in-allthe figures Where they appear. Y

A is a. pipe bringing steam trom a boiler. (Not represented.) A' is' a series of convolu- 6o tions in such pipe, heated by a fire in the fnr- ^nace() to a, temperature about 1',500 Fahrenheit.`

B is a valve which controls the flow of the steam from the boiler to the convolutions, and D is' a second valvewhich controls the delivery of the contents of the coil into the base of the uprhtuetort. y l

vThe eiect of t e apparatus 'so far as yet def '7 going to line the 7interior of the coil A with oxd ofv iron, WhileA the hydrogen thus liber; atedm'oves forward. When the operation is properly conducted, free hydrogen alone in the first part of the treatment and the same with hydrocarbon vapor at a. later stage are delivered past the valve D.

It will be understood that the apparatus pe' cents a, thick coating of fire-brick or other rep fract'ory non conducting material to with- 8o suitable material to "maintain the integrity of the interior, l A hydrocarbon-inlet M -leadsfrom a vessel, which for convenience maybe. the small vessel N, at an elevation of about twenty-live fee` abovethe-coil A'. jlnthicfor each batch o1l one ton of iron'place one (l) quart of naphharshest .5.to10f.Beum,a1d tightly closer P is anupright retort composed of lengths of f ire4clay matched together and having the lowered sealedwith `water ina concave tank Q. :The interior of this upright passage,which 95 I have termed Ia' uretort, is smooth and Y slightly "tapered, the large end downward. The upper end ias open to the atmosphere. A considerable length of this retort is enveloped in avfurnace T, which maintainsahigh temperature in all that part of the retort above the 'plane of the furnace-bars 'Il' and in the "tho'surfaces of the iron.

Quantity of iron moving slowly downwerd ftfhfei'ein-ad in the-hydrogen moving upward in the' interstices.

Thus conditioned the hydrogen is absorbed nearly uniformly by all Thin sheet-iron in 'rollsor otherconvenient form isfed in nt proper linterveilsat` e. door p neer the top, end "therouiegierges' at the bottom below the snrfsco of Vthe water scsi in the trink-Q sind is lwfhnulediiiplhe"inclined sides of the thnlt by Ahan'dl'iiijb'y.'machines-y, and' its placeis sup pll'edby-mone .descendingfrom shove in the yllnooth'vinteriore?'1), so that thoopemtion is continuons.' 15

The steam-pressure-'in the convolutions is vTnni'n'tnined at about foray pounds, except for .ashort.period.. After i e operation is -conn tinued about two honra the valve B is so far closed-that the pressure in the convolnt-ions isvflowored to aboutlen pounds per sqnere inch and the cock C is opened, allowing the "zg naphtha-todescend through the pipe M and4 This condition is inegin` onzer.' the coil 1A".

nsphth will be fou nd-to beve neerly or quite allidescended. Now the cock C is closed sud the valveB'is'afgain set wide opemresoring the full stesm-pressureinthe apparatus, nnd

this condition so? y is maintained for for-ty min.- utes, or until the end of the operation. The

fontire treatment 'will occupy about three hoursunderordinsry conditions. The hosted v'iron descending through the beth of hydro.

f gen in this, which I ierm che costing proc ess, absorbs the hydrogen and forms :ny alloy in n crude condition. Ae neerlyes .i have been able to determine, aided bye great number of small experiments, the tempereiure should be about 1,800 Fahrenheit. The alloy is.now in the form of a. scale on the surfaces of the sheet-iron. If allowed to ,con-

tinue' a long time, the sheet-iron will be elscaled iron may be again loyed quite through; but the opemiion will proceed more slowly after the iron is covered with a coating of alloy. The 'alloy et v4this stage is not strong, and it may be besten o from the core of unalloyed iron remaining by subjecting the coated iron to violent concussions in acommon agricultural threshingme- 5" tached scale being collected by e. process matter may be cast in san@ or in solid moids like iron or steel.

' The structural character of `my alloy may be changed by subsequent treatment. For instance, it mcy be relient-ed nud mechanically Worked to' acquire the laminated or fibrous character ot' wrought-iron.

.2 l' ecosse l l escribe to the treatment wibh nsphtha'at one period an importantduty in absorbing and carrying away any oxygen which may by 7o any chance be present iu the allo Modifications may be made wlthh thesoope oi theclnilns without depsrtingfr'om th-prin,- ciple orsaoriicing the .advlmtagesot the iuvention. -1 fg.' L75 Ii, will nndereioedthntithe tre'aiuient of rthe etonne 'in the convolutlons A' of the `.pipe .1-ris the mode which I consider moet def nimble i'or'producing hydrogen from steam'in the liberal quantities and at the pressures re- `8c quired. The interior of the convclntions A'" may be subsequently deoxidized by flowing n hydrocarbon through the seme at s proper temperature, asA has long been practiced by myself and others; Thesurfaceof iron ex- 85 posed may/be increased by any ordinary or suitable devices, ais the filling ofthe convolotions A' l osely with scrap-iron.. The hydrogen for my treatment may be produced by other mesns than by the decomposition of 9o steam. YHydrogen producedV by any available means may be used to produce my alloy by this process. L

I can treatores of iron and produce my alloy et the same time that the iron is reduced 95 from the ore to the metallic siete. To oiect this, l use n modifient-conducting vessel, with provisions for admitting agaseous blast and. for discharging the finished producachargf i ing n; with foei, iron ores, andl auxin the'fxo'o proportions indicnted by the chemical coni-u` position of erich. The form of the appmaisn-s-V moy be that of en ordinary bltf'i'rnace V, ne shown in Fig. 4. auch cessi!` rent the ore irst with the ordinary blast,"w ich can to; enter et any convenient place -end at a cer min time, determined by the progress of the reduction of the ores to thonet-allie state. vI out off the air-blast end substitute :h yiligili.,l from the convolutions A' by closingavslvexro W, controlling the induction of air, and open-zv ing the vvalve D and continuing its application about two hours in the same 'manner as before described. The slag and the alloy are drnwnfrom the snbmelter by the tap'. '115 Alliron ores end ell manufactured iron contain silicon, alumina., die., in varying quaniiemnnd consequengly morc'or less of ehemicnllylpure iron proportionately, and all and 5 cvery'kind can be used in tlidproduetion of `12'o the alloy. 'Therefore any given charge of the ellcy will contain more or less hydrogen in prof4 ortion to the purity of the iron that has been used, and any sample from any such charge will yield more or less hydrogen on x25 analysis.

is the result of analysis of diierent samples of 4the alloy Istate that as afairavcrage eleven Y onehundredths of one per cent. of hydrogen, by weight, are found in the alloy. At this '13o average the emonnt oi. combined hydrogen iu one ton of two thousand pounds of the alloy would yield eighty-two and one-half pounds o 1T watercontaining gaseous hydrogenl equivalent to two thousand two hundred cubic feet,

. temperature 60 Fahrenheit, barometer 30..

invention.

It is, importent that the s'cales or the small thickness of iron saturated with hydrogen from thesurlnce in what I have termed the costing process be melted. To shape the article in iron, wrought or cast, and then treat it with heet and hydrogen until it is saturated throughout its entire thinking-will not produce my alloy norany useful upprosch thereto by reason of the. cru mbly and weak condition which obtains in the mass. Thestlloy must be i melted in. order to attain a sound and strong condition of themetal, soas to realize any considerable portionof the benefit of my I use lthe word' iron to inclu'de all the grades of iron und steel. .l

I do not in patent claim the alloy thus formed, such boing the subject of a se arate patent, for which spplication was filed arch 10,1896, Scritti No. 582,600, of Whichthe applicetion for the present patent is adivision.

I claim es my :invention- 1.. The process described of producing n fusible alloy ot iron and hydrogen by iirst paddling the iron, subsequently reducing it to a form presenting a greatly-extended surfece, heating such iron in the presence of freel 2. The process described of producing a,`

malleable alloy of iron and hydrogen by first puddling the iron, subsequently reducing it to a form presenting a greatly-extended surface, heating such iron in the presence of free hydrogen and allowing time for the iron to absorb 'the hydrogen, subsequently detnching and melting the scale thus produced 'and again mechanically working such elloy, substantially as specified.

In testimony that I claim the invention above set forth I ax my signature yin presence of two witnesses.

GEORGE W. GESNER. Y

Witnesses:

MfF. BOYLE, J. B. CLAUTICE. 

